US Embassy in Qatar warns people about its envoy’s fake LinkedIn account

The biggest problem people face in this age of seamless connectivity is the very real chances of your details being faked and misused online.

And when it happens to people in power, the implications can be many.

Yesterday, the US Embassy in Qatar asked residents to be aware of a fake LinkedIn account of the Ambassador with which fraudsters may scam them out of money.

“We have recently been made aware of a fake LinkedIn account claiming to be Ambassador Dana Shell Smith. The only official, verified social media accounts belonging to the Ambassador and the US Embassy in Doha are listed on our website. Ambassador does not have a LinkedIn account or a Facebook account,” The Peninsula reported the US Embassy as noting on its official Facebook page.

Ambassador Dana Shell Smith herself wrote on her official Twitter account @AmbDana: “Thank you all for flagging the fraudulent LinkedIn account. I am not on LinkedIn or Facebook. Beware of fake accounts.”

The US Embassy further explained.

“If you received a job offer from the Ambassador or the Embassy, it is FAKE! These accounts purporting to be Ambassador Smith are being used in attempts to scam people out of money and are fake.”

“Any official correspondence from the US Embassy or an Embassy official will be from a properly formatted US Department of State email address ending in @state.gov. If you have been approached by someone claiming to be Ambassador Smith, or have other useful information on the case, please contact DohaSecurity@state.gov,” read the warning message.

The fake LinkedIn account of the Ambassador has 319 connections.

Earlier in 2015, the US Embassy in Qatar had also warned residents about similar fake accounts set up by fraudsters in the name of the Ambassador.